This is where Paul McKinley’s story begins. In his new body of work, he has reproduced scenes of the consequences of these Afghan conflicts, doing so with his usual attention to detail and painstaking handling of paint, which, on this occasion, seem to have been infused with particular concern and anxiety. Among them are images of a vertiginous, tortuous, and mountainous steel bridge, symbolising the complex relationship between Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan, a ruined swimming-pool near Kabul, paid for by the Soviets, which may have been used for executions, and another of war wreckage; less politically charged are pictures of opium poppies, a woman wearing a burqa, and a peaceful mountain lake. Together, the paintings are sobering, perhaps more than a little disheartening.

Extract from an accompanying text by John Hutchinson

Paul McKinley lives and works in Dublin. Recent exhibitions include New Acquisitions, Hugh Lane Gallery, (2022 – 23), Blume, (solo) Kevin Kavanagh, Dublin (2020-21), The Great Outdoors, Arts Council online exhibition (2020), SILVER, Kevin Kavanagh, Dublin (2019), From the Mountain, works from the Arts Council Collection, Wexford Arts Centre (2019), Elysian Fields (solo) Kevin Kavanagh, Dublin (2018), Many Worlds, Centre Cultural Irlandais, Paris (2017), Hanuman, (solo) Kevin Kavanagh, Dublin (2015), VOLTA Basel (2014), Gacaca, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin (2014), Operation Turquoise (solo) Kevin Kavanagh, Dublin (2013), Matt Roberts Gallery, London, (2012) and Interlude, Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2011). Awards include Arts Council Bursary Award (2020 & 2014), Claremorris Painting Award (2015), and the Nissan Art Project at the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin (2007).